If the city of Morgan Hill turns to the Santa Clara County
Sheriff’s Office for police services, it could wipe out its entire
general fund deficit of $1.8 million next year, maintain at least
the current level of law enforcement protection, and might even end
up with a surplus of cash, according to city and county union
representatives.
If the city of Morgan Hill turns to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office for police services, it could wipe out its entire general fund deficit of $1.8 million next year, maintain at least the current level of law enforcement protection, and might even end up with a surplus of cash, according to city and county union representatives.
Cities that contract with the Sheriff’s Office for police spend less on public safety than the city of Morgan Hill and their officials are pleased with the service they receive.
Entering into such a contract with the county for police, similar to the current arrangement for fire and emergency medical services, is one option that Morgan Hill officials will consider in the coming weeks as the council inches closer to its deadline to approve a budget for next year. The Morgan Hill Police Officers Association voted “overwhelmingly” this week to submit a proposal to the city manager, according to MHPOA president Ken Howard.
Asking the city to consider becoming a “contract city” with the county is the MHPOA’s first answer to City Hall’s requests to come up with ideas to reduce staffing costs.
Three cities in Santa Clara County that pay the county for police services – Cupertino, Saratoga, and Los Altos Hills – spend substantially less per capita than the city of Morgan Hill spends on its police department.
Howard said the POA, which represents 32 sworn Morgan Hill officers, thinks the sheriff’s office could provide the current level of police coverage for Morgan Hill, and even add officers to the streets for less than the taxpayers’ $9.7-million cost of the department. That might allow the city to avoid laying off police and other city employees, which council members have noted is a likely option with the projected deficit.
“This is the best possible solution we could think of to balance the budget and raise the level of officers in Morgan Hill,” Howard said of the proposal. “This is about keeping people safe, and it allows the city to focus on other things than the deficit.”
Residents wouldn’t notice much of a difference in police presence, safety and crime rates if the city contracted with the Sheriff’s Office, according to Sgt. Dennis Moser, Vice President of the SCC Deputy Sheriff’s Association, a union that represents the county’s sworn officers. He said the transition would be “seamless,” with current Morgan Hill officers being “absorbed” into the Sheriff’s Office as deputies, and remaining in the community. The officers could take their seniority and rank with them, so they don’t have to start over as rookies. Their pay would remain about the same, as a deputy – the lowest sworn officer rank in the county – makes about $86,000 per year, a sum which increases about 15 percent with each higher rank.
The exact price of a contract with the county would depend on what kind of services and how many officers the city wants, but Moser estimated the county could provide the same services the city has now for a savings of about $2 million in one year.
Plus, the city would have ready access to all of the county’s resources, including its helicopter, special operations teams, SWAT teams, crime lab, bomb squad and other specialized services, Moser said. The county would also be able to continue to provide animal control services.
An audit of city-owned equipment, including patrol cars, would take place, and the city and county would decide together what to do with those resources. Morgan Hill officers would wear deputies’ uniforms and drive sheriff’s patrol cars. The police station on Vineyard Boulevard would likely become a Sheriff’s substation, Moser said.
The biggest savings would come from the elimination of overhead costs that the city now pays, as well as fewer command staff on-site locally, Moser said. Morgan Hill would not have a chief of police or the two commanders it now has on its payroll. Rather, the county would likely assign one of its existing higher-ranking officers, such as a captain or lieutenant, to the Morgan Hill substation.
Morgan Hill Police Chief Chief Bruce Cumming did not return phone calls by press time.
While current MHPOA members would likely all keep their jobs under a county contract, less certain is the fate of the city’s police support staff, including dispatchers, records keepers, community service officers and the animal control officer. Moser declined to comment on how those staff members would fit into a contract transition, as they would be represented by a different county union.
The Morgan Hill Community Service Officers Association, which represents 18 support staff at MHPD, has not discussed the idea, according to the union’s president, Donna MacKnight.
The Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on a potential contract with Morgan Hill because it has not been contacted by the city.
Morgan Hill council members have said they prefer to stay out of the staff’s way as individual departments determine their budget proposals, which will be presented to the council May 15, and thus declined to say if they think becoming a county contract city sounds like a good or bad idea.
Mayor Steve Tate said contracting with the county has been discussed by the council before, but not in high detail since he has been on the council. He said he doesn’t like the idea, but the city has to look at every possible way to save money.
“One of the things that makes us a unique, and great community, is we have our own, and an outstanding, police department,” Tate said. “That’s part of the pride of a community, to have our own determination. But you know how bad these economic times are.”
Added Councilwoman Marilyn Librers, “All options are worth exploring.”
The last time the city considered contracting with the county for police was in the early-1990s, City Manager Ed Tewes said. City staff conducted a study of the possible relationship, and found then that the savings would not be as large as its supporters thought. That year instead, the council decided to cut its police staff. That was the same year the city started contracting with the South Santa Clara County Fire District for fire services. That contract now costs about $5 million.
The city has asked the POA numerous times in recent months to talk about reopening their contract with the city, which provides wage increases and other provisions through 2013, but so far they haven’t heard anything, Tewes said. The city’s requests started before the most recent raise of 4 percent, which went into effect April 1 and cost the city about $200,000.
The city of Cupertino has a population of about 55,000 and this year will spend about $8.5 million on its police contract with the sheriff’s office. That includes every aspect of law enforcement service, according to City Manager Dave Knapp. The city has contracted with the county since it was incorporated more than 50 years ago, and it benefits from “excellent” patrol coverage.
“The price is very good, and the service is exceptional,” Knapp said.
The contract also allows the city to maintain local control of public safety, Knapp said. He said the city council still has the ability to make its own police budget every year, and the county provides the flexibility to move people, equipment and resources where they are needed.
“It’s about as good a contract as I’ve had with any contractor,” Knapp said.
